amos finds a wart

Gary Mitchell and Amos

Editor’s note: Amos is a church mouse who types by hurling himself at the keys but he can’t use the capital shift keys and he shuns punctuation marks — except for hyphens and dashes.

boss i was looking at my

reflection in the toilet

bowl the other day and i

noticed a growth just

under my whiskers

what is that i asked

myself and i leaned

over for a closer look

and nearly fell in

it was a wart

exclamation point here

boss a big fat ugly

wart - i don t think

there are any small

slim and cute ones

anywhere - but there

it was big as life on

my little hairy face

i m ugly i shouted

to no one in particular

and jumped up and

down and nearly fell

in the bowl again

oh why was i born

with such an ugly

form i bemoaned

my awful fate

and soon my revulsion

turned to pure hate

i hate you you re

ugly i told the face in

the toilet bowl

you re no good you re

worthless you warted

soul

in my anger and

despair i didn t see the

lovable slobbery louie

the songdog pad by

why so low, little bro

he cheerily sang

oh be like the rain louie

go away and come again

some other day says me

you always ruin my

moments of misery

can t help it says he

whatever can the

matter be

i m ugly as a dry-rotted

tree says me no one will

love me anymore when they

see me their eyes turn sore

be careful little bro

don t stump your toe

or into the water you ll go

louie sang he was on a roll

you re not ugly at all

for a mouse you re quite an

animal a delightfully fuzzy

little furrball louie sang

accentuate the positive

eliminate the negative

i heard that somewhere

he said

remember amos who you are -

not how you look - and you ll

go far

if you re in christ you re a

child of the king and you re

loved by him who rules

everything you really are

special one of a kind

a greater one of you you ll

never find

you re blessed with

riches the heavenly kind

you re forgiven in christ and

have his mind your whole life is

filled with peace joy and love

because of jesus and the

father above

so how can you hate yourself

be down and so blue when

you re god s creation without a

doubt it s true you re made

perfect in him not only that

you re empowered by his spirit

and made alive again

he lives in you and you in him

he died for you forgives your

sin and gives you grace and

peace within ain t it great

to be one with him

and louie padded on by

while i sat and heaved a sigh

you know boss that wart

seemed to shrink away and i

thought what a wonderful

day god s in his heaven and

to me joy has been given

you know boss a good

encourager like louie is

worth his weight in cheese

amos